An abusive former laundrette owner has been jailed for 16 years after he was convicted of pimping out a woman and attacking her with a knife.

Daniel Capstick-Bedson launched a campaign of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse over several years against the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons.

His offences included pouring a kettle full of boiling water over her, burning her with a frying pan and slowly forcing a kitchen knife into her chest and puncturing her lung.

The balding 40-year-old even rented out premises with bondage equipment and forced the woman to become a prostitute, advertising her by using social media.

During sentencing at Lewes Crown Court yesterday, Judge Charles Kemp said Capstick-Bedson had used money gained from the prostitution to buy himself a Jaguar while pretending to be an upstanding member of the community by volunteering to help the elderly.

After each incident he told the victim to lie to the authorities and concocted tales of her being attacked in the street to deflect questions about the injuries she sustained.

But a jury found him guilty of nine offences, which prosecution barrister Richard Barton outlined in court.

He said: “Capstick-Bedson repeatedly abused the victim and the attacks grew more serious as time passed.

“He compounded this by persuading her to lie to the authorities in order to prevent him from being investigated for each of his assaults.

“Eventually she finally felt strong enough to break from him and to complain to the police about this course of conduct, so he sought to pressurise her into withdrawing her evidence.”

Mr Barton said the first attack occurred while the victim was seven months pregnant and suffering from morning sickness, with CapstickBedson dragging her by the hair.

The most serious incident took place with the kitchen knife.

A statement from the victim said: “He was digging it into my body and screaming into my face, he pushed it harder and he was shouting and swearing, saying he was going to kill me.”

Capstick-Bedson’s story was that she fell over while chopping meat but Judge Kemp said she was “terrified”

of what he would do to her if she refused to comply with his version of events.

The judge said Capstick-Bedson was a danger to the public and said his failure to face up to his crimes had forced her to relive her harrowing experiences in court.

He said: “You have demonstrated no remorse or empathy and you are unwilling to address your own behaviour, you are manipulative and controlling man.”

For the knife incident, CapstickBedson was jailed for 16 years for wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, for which he must serve at least 12 years in prison.

He was also given concurrent sentences for perverting the course of justice, inciting prostitution for gain, four counts of assault, common assault, and unlawful wounding. He denied all charges.

Capstick-Bedson, of Climping Road in Crawley, appeared in court via videolink and apparently suffered a minor heart attack the night before sentencing.

He claimed to be suffering from nausea and shortness of breath while in the prison room, but a nurse who checked him said all his observations were normal so Judge Charles Kemp proceeded.

The pimp was eventually taken out of the room after arguing with the judge. He shouted: “I pay your wages.” But despite continuing to protest his innocence as he was led away, Judge Kemp continued with the proceedings.